1. Field of the Present Invention
The present invention generally relates to the field of data processing networks and more particularly to Ethernet networks employing twisted pair cabling such as CAT 5, CAT 5e, and CAT 6 cabling.
2. History of Related Art
In the field of data processing local area networks (LANs), the transistor from 10/100 Megabits/second (Mbps) systems to 1000 Mbps (Gigabit) systems is well underway. The installed base of 10/100 Ethernet systems was largely implemented with Category 5 (CAT 5), twisted pair cabling as specified by ANSI/EIA (American National Standards Institute/Electronic Industries Association) Standard 568. Standard 568 specifies the cable material as well as the types of connectors and junction blocks to be used in order to guarantee the data rate associated with the category. Originally, 100 Mbps Ethernet systems used 4 twisted pairs (8 wires) of which 4 wires were terminated to ground. More recently, 100 Mbps Ethernet typically employ improved drivers that eliminate the need for the 4 ground wires. Gigabit Ethernet can also be installed on CAT 5 systems having 4 twisted-pairs although all 8 wires are needed. Thus, at the physical layer, there is substantially no difference between Gigabit Ethernet systems employing CAT 5 cabling and many 100 Mbps systems. It would be desirable to implement an Ethernet system that took advantage of this hardware commonality to improve the availability or reliability of Gigabit installations.